The present invention relates generally to voice and digital communications services, and more particularly, the invention relates to a method, system, and computer program product for providing automated call acknowledgement and answering services over a communications network.
The growing popularity of the Internet and the associated Internet protocol (IP) technology has carried over to the cellular industry which has embraced IP as the networking architecture of choice for creating and implementing new applications and service offerings. Recent trends toward open, packet-based wireless technology has facilitated an extraordinary expansion of global, wireless subscribers which continues to grow each year.
This third-generation (3G) technology provides network operators and third-party content and service providers with vast potential for delivering new services and value-added content to mobile cellular subscribers that can be personalized in ways never before thought possible.
While the increase in mobile communications has provided great flexibility and convenience for the subscriber, it has also created the need for improvements. For example, a subscriber of telephony services often finds that incoming communications come through at inopportune moments, such as while driving in a car, sitting in a meeting, or while the subscriber is otherwise occupied. However, the subscriber, while not in a position to answer the communication, would still like to acknowledge to the sender that the communication attempt was observed and communicate to the sender information without engaging in an immediate conversation. The increase in traffic accidents by drivers distracted while talking on cell phones and the recent legislation restricting cell phone usage on the road is evidence of the need for additional service options for the mobile device user.
In most situations, the called party has two choices: answer the communication attempt or allow the communication attempt to go unanswered. There are circumstances that arise, however, whereby the caller is not able to answer the communication attempt and has no other option but to let the communication attempt pass. With caller identification service, the called party may be aware of who is initiating the communication attempt but has no way of acknowledging the communication attempt or the caller without physically answering the communication attempt.
What is needed, therefore, is a convenient way to acknowledge to a caller that the called party is aware of the communication attempt and to communicate information as to how or when the two parties may alternatively communicate, perhaps at a future time, without physically answering the communication attempt. Further, what is needed is a convenient way to provide communication acknowledgement options to the receiving party as to how to reply to an observed incoming communication attempt other than the conventional method of answering a voice call or otherwise responding in a manner so as to converse with the sender in real-time through other means such as text-based conversation. Communication acknowledgement options are options for a response to an incoming communication attempt that result in no immediate two-way discussion between two parties. These options include: (1) sending a customized voice reply to an incoming communication attempt and (2) automatically scheduling an alternate time to converse.
Further, what is needed is a convenient way to provide communication answering options to the receiving party as to how to reply to an observed incoming communication attempt. Communication answering options are options for a response to an incoming communication attempt that result in an immediate two-way interaction between at least two parties. These options include: (1) using an incoming communication attempt to initiate an interactive real-time communication session between two parties in disparate communication modes, (2) using an incoming communication attempt to initiate another interactive application between the parties such as a shared gaming experience or other shared application, (3) using an incoming communication attempt to initiate a closed captioning text presentation and recording of a voice conversation, and (4) using an incoming communication attempt to initiate dual mode multiple disassociated conversations.